爱是最好的遗产

    As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his elder son developed a serious stomachache. Thinking it was only some common disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But it was actually acute appendicitis (严重的阑尾炎), and the boy died suddenly that night.
     Knowing the death could have been prevented if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al’s emotional health deteriorated (恶化) under the burden of his guilt. To make matters worse, his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could handle, and he turned to alcohol to help him cope. In time Al became an alcoholic.
   As the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he possessed — his home, his land and his art objects. Eventually Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room.
     When I heard of Al’s death, I reacted with the same disdain (轻蔑) the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing material to show for it. “What a complete failure!” I thought. “What a totally wasted life!”
     As time went by, I began to re-evaluate my earlier judgment. I knew Al’s now adult son, Ernie. He has grown into one of the kindest, most caring and most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free flow of love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.